Trademarks

Special Trademark Services for Restauranteurs

The Portalatin Law Firm is restauranteur’s resource for protecting their brands, and their ability to expand them.  We have specific experience in searching and filing for federal trademarks for restaurants, and have developed specialized service packages specifically to serve their needs.  To learn more about this service, click here. 

What Exactly Is A Trademark Or A Service Mark? What’s The Difference Between Those Two?

A trademark is a type of intellectual property, along with patents and copyrights. Trademarks specifically are used to protect words, phrases, designs, or combinations of those things, and even sounds in certain situations. Logos are often protected by trademark registration. The purpose of a trademark is to identify your goods or your services and then distinguish them from the goods and services of others so that the consumer knows what the origin of that good or service is. Read More

Introducing Attorney Jessica Portalatin

My practice focuses on business law, so I help business owners with different aspects of their businesses. That could include buying and selling their business, drafting contracts for them, but a lot of times, it’s a registering their trademark, which is a vital part of the business. Read More

Trademarks And The Protections They Provide

A trademark is one type of intellectual property. It can be a word, a phrase, a design, or even a combination of these, and its purpose is to identify the source of goods or services and distinguish them from other goods or services. The trademark registration protects the trademark owner from other individuals or businesses using its trademark, or something confusingly similar to it, in commerce. This is what is referred to as infringement. Read More

The Steps To Get Started Creating A Trademark

If you already have your logo or your brand name, the next step would be the trademark search, which is a search that we perform here in our office, and it checks different databases. It does not just check the USPTO database, which is where it will be registered; it checks state databases, social media, and online databases. That helps us to know whether your mark is already registered, or if you are infringing on anyone else’s mark, prior to moving forward to the next step of the application. Read More

The Next Steps To Finalizing The Registration And Protecting My Intellectual Property Once A Trademark Is Approved

The next step is to start using the trademark registration symbol. That way, you put the public on notice that your mark is registered federally and protected. Also, make sure that people do not misuse your mark and make it generic. That is one of the ways that your mark loses its trademark rights. One way to make a term generic is to use it as a verb rather than a noun. Read More

What Hiring An Attorney Can Help With Compared To Attempting The Process Alone?

In my many years of assisting my clients with trademark registration, I have learned the numerous and varied factors considered in having a trademark registered. This knowledge of the factors and the process minimizes the risk of the client losing time and money by having an application rejected. Read More

What Are The Requirements For Registering A Trademark In Florida And At The Federal Level?

In Florida, the trademark needs to be used in commerce at the time of application, and you need to submit the trademark application, along with three specimen, to the Department of State. A specimen is simply proof that shows that you are using the mark in commerce; so for example, a flyer, a screenshot of your website, a business card, a brochure, etc. You mail the application, specimen, and filing fee all in, and then the State either approves or rejects your application. Read More

If Someone Is Doing Business Under A Name That Is Similar To My Florida Registered Trademark, What Can I Do?

The first thing to do would be to send a cease and desist letter to let them know that they are infringing on your registered trademark. They must stop using the mark or risk legal action. Read More